Odds to win the NBA Finals: Heat still in the mix for Lillard

Odds to win the NBA Finals: Heat still in the mix for Lillard

Finals: Heat still in the mix for Lillard

The Denver Nuggets were the best of the West in 2022-23, and then they went on a relatively stress-free playoff run that culminated in an NBA Finals victory. Now, they’re favoured to repeat.

 

By Jordan Horrobin NorthStar Bets

Tuesday, June 28, 2022

3 min to read

Article was updated 1 hr ago

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Assuming Damian Lillard gets traded, the team that picks him up will see a notable change to its NBA Finals odds. Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/AP.

 

Craig Mitchelldyer

The Denver Nuggets were the best of the West in 2022-23, and then they went on a relatively stress-free playoff run that culminated in an NBA Finals victory. Now, they’re favoured to repeat.

 

The latest: Denver’s competitors in the Finals, the Miami Heat, lag behind a couple of other Eastern Conference teams on the odds leaderboard. But Miami is lurking near the top now that the team is in a promising position to land seven-time all-star Damian Lillard.

 

Check out the latest NBA Finals odds for the 2023-24 season as of Sept. 21.

 

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

NBA Finals odds

Team Odds (Sept. 21) Odds (Sept. 13)

Denver Nuggets +450 +450

Boston Celtics +550 +550

Milwaukee Bucks +550 +550

Phoenix Suns +600 +600

Miami Heat +800 +800

Golden State Warriors +1,200 +1,200

Los Angeles Lakers +1,400 +1,400

Los Angeles Clippers +1,600 +1,600

Philadelphia 76ers +1,800 +1,800

Cleveland Cavaliers +2,500 +2,500

Memphis Grizzlies +2,500 +2,500

Dallas Mavericks +2,500 +2,500

Sacramento Kings +4,000 +4,000

New Orleans Pelicans +5,000 +5,000

New York Knicks +5,000 +5,000

Minnesota Timberwolves +8,000 +8,000

NBA odds as of 2:00 p.m. on 09/21/2023.

 

Best NBA Finals odds

The favourites: Denver Nuggets (+450)

 

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Is Nikola Jokic the best basketball player in the world right now? After winning MVP in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and adding a Finals MVP trophy, we think so.

 

Denver isn’t a top-heavy team, though. This squad had six players averaging double-digit points in both the regular season and the playoffs, with talented contributors like Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon.

 

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Then there’s Jamal Murray, who’s worth more than a mere “contributor” label. He averaged 21.4 points, 10.0 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game in the NBA Finals, operating a lethal two-man game with Jokic in half-court sets.

 

Denver was a truly deserving champion, as the No. 1 seed in an impressively deep Western Conference. With the exception of Bruce Brown, who left for the Pacers, the vast majority of Denver’s championship squad is coming back.

 

Repeating obviously won’t be easy, but it comes with a fair bit of precedent. There have been 13 instances of repeat NBA champions, with the Golden State Warriors (2017-18) accomplishing the feat most recently.

 

Other NBA Finals choices

Team Odds (Sept. 21)

Atlanta Hawks +8,000

Brooklyn Nets +8,000

Oklahoma City Thunder +8,000

Toronto Raptors +10,000

Portland Trail Blazers +15,000

Chicago Bulls +15,000

San Antonio Spurs +15,000

Indiana Pacers +25,000

Houston Rockets +25,000

Orlando Magic +25,000

Utah Jazz +25,000

Washington Wizards +50,000

Detroit Pistons +50,000

Charlotte Hornets +50,000

NBA odds as of 2:00 p.m. on 09/21/2023.

 

Best value: Sacramento Kings (+4,000)

 

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The young, offensively-minded Kings burned hot and bright last season. But in the playoffs, against a far more experienced Warriors team, they burned out.

 

With Domantas Sabonis agreeing to a hearty extension, the Kings have made it clear how they’d like to structure their team moving forward. A talented core of Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter will have at least one more year together.

 

Sacramento posted the best offensive rating in NBA history (119.4) last year. Five of its eight rotation players were 25 and younger, and all of those young guys are back

 

Being another year older — and thus another year wiser — makes the Kings an intriguing 40-to-1 long shot.

 

Team to watch: Miami Heat (+800)

 

The Heat could use a game-breaking guard, and it just so happens that one of those has his heart set on South Beach.

 

Lillard requested a trade from the Trail Blazers months ago, and he indicated this month that the Heat and Blazers are the only teams he’d report to for training camp, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. The 32-year-old doesn’t have a no-trade clause, so technically Portland doesn’t have to meet his demands, but superstar players often get their way in the end.

 

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Miami made an improbable run to the Finals last year as the No. 8 seed in the East, claiming a conference banner for the second time in four years.

 

If Portland and Miami do pull off a Lillard swap, a presumed big three of Lillard, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo would certainly have the Heat in the mix.

 

Raptors NBA Finals odds

Toronto Raptors (+10,000)

 

The Raptors have their new coach, but there’s still no shortage of questions regarding the direction of this team.

 

Fred VanVleet opted out of his player option for 2023-24 and subsequently signed a massive deal with the Houston Rockets. Losing your assist leader (7.2/game) and second-leading scorer (19.3/game) is a significant blow.

 

And it’s not as if the additions of Jalen McDaniels and Dennis Schröder figure to appropriately counteract that loss.

 

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The Raptors stumbled into the play-in tournament this past spring and got axed immediately. With two more key pieces playing their final season before free agency (Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby), Toronto could go in any number of directions from here.

 

With that said, it’s safe to assume Toronto is closer to a total teardown than a title run.

 

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JH

Jordan Horrobin writes about sports betting for NorthStar Bets. The Star’s parent company has a minority interest in NorthStar Bets.

 

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